Cincinnati, OH – Jaquon Parker dropped in 28 points and ranked Marquette with a 61 victory on Wednesday.
Dion Dixon added 21 points and four steals, while Yancy Gates had 13 boards and Justin Jackson blocked seven shots for the Bearcats (21-9, 11-6 Big East), who won for the fourth time in five games and improved to 5-3 against ranked opponents this season.
Darius Johnson-Odom paced the Golden Eagles with 18 points and Jae Crowder contributed 17 points and 12 rebounds for Marquette (24-6, 13-4), which had its five-game win streak come to an end.
Neither team took a lead larger than three points over a back-and-forth opening five minutes of the first half until Cincinnati reeled off a 10-0 run to jump out to a 19-11 advantage with just over 11 minutes left.
Vander Blue's layup ended the spurt, but Marquette never got closer than six for the remainder of the half as the Bearcats gradually increased their lead.
Cincinnati outscored the Golden Eagles by a mark of 23-13 over the final 10 minutes of the first half and held a 42-26 lead at the break.
The Bearcats shot just 2-for-15 from three-point range in the first half, but outscored Marquette in the paint, 28-12, and held the Golden Eagles to 9- for-29 shooting from the floor.
Marquette never threatened in the second half, trailing by double digits for the entire frame as Cincinnati cruised to the win.
The Bearcats led by as much as 19 points on four separate occasions and by no less than 11 over the final 20 minutes.
Game Notes
Cincinnati leads the all-time series, 26-19...The Bearcats are 8-4 over their last 12 games against ranked foes...Cincinnati finished the game with a 42-24 advantage in the paint...Gates and Jackson scored six points apiece.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.